A Question for English Fans...

Just looking at some English county pages and wondering if there is any reason Ben Smith of Worcestershire hasn't had so much is a look in at International Level. Particularly given he has played since 1990 in an era where England tried so many different batting options.

His record isn't brilliant, but solid enough to suggest he might have been tried at some stage in the last 15 or so years.

His Firstclass Average being a shade above 40 with 40 hundreds to his name

Just looking at some English county pages and wondering if there is any reason Ben Smith of Worcestershire hasn't had so much is a look in at International Level. Particularly given he has played since 1990 in an era where England tried so many different batting options.

His record isn't brilliant, but solid enough to suggest he might have been tried at some stage in the last 15 or so years.

His Firstclass Average being a shade above 40 with 40 hundreds to his name

There was talk about him being called up in 1999 but selectors went for his county colleague Aftab Habib instead. I've seen him make a double ton at Taunton, and he looks like a fine county player but no more- a grinder rather than someone with inate talent, who would probably have been found out at test level.

I'm fairly certain Ben Smith made at least one, very possibly two, England A tours around about the 1998/99-1999/2000 time. So he has been in the frame, just hasn't ever broken through.

I honestly think the biggest thing that's held Ben Smith back has been the fact he moved from Leics to Worcs at the prime stage of his career. Had he stayed where he was, his chances might have been slightly better.

However, there's always the odd player like that. Ed Smith, who has played 3 Tests, played them only because of an extraordinary run of form and the fact that Graham Thorpe was being, ridiculously, ignored. Had Thorpe been picked early in the summer of 2003, it's very unlikely either Ed or Ben Smith would've played a Test, and both have pretty decent records.

There are one or two others too. Aftab Habib for example played just 2 Tests, that because Michael Atherton was injured. Had Atherton been fit, Habib would never have played either.

Another thing is that I can't think of any seasons where Ben Smith really really turned it on, averaged 60 or 70, though there might be one that I've forgotten. Most successful international batsmen have such things.

But often it's a question of being in the right place at the right time - see the fact that Greg Blewett, not fit to lace Darren Lehmann's boots as a batsman, played several times the number of Tests Lehmann did before 2002.

There was talk about him being called up in 1999 but selectors went for his county colleague Aftab Habib instead. I've seen him make a double ton at Taunton, and he looks like a fine county player but no more- a grinder rather than someone with inate talent, who would probably have been found out at test level.

He always seemed more of an honest, hard-working but nothing special batsman to me on the few occasions I've seen him bat. I can't recall any innings of note though, which says a lot.

The only time I've ever seen him bat what I'd call really well was in this game here. Doesn't look like an especially remarkable innings, but chasing a tough target, against a ball that mark my words was doing plenty for most of the innings, at not that far shy of a-run-a-ball. It was a super knock. Smith, however, has not produced these sorts of innings with the regularity to suggest international-class.

They were almost out of it (only Smith's innings kept them even remotely in, no-one else really had a clue) until Dakin came in and blased that 36 just at the time the ball stopped doing much.

I remember vehemently wanting Worcestershire to win that match, for Richard Illingworth's sake (he bowled superbly in that match and was most unfortunate to go for as many as he did - the same is true of Sheriyar). Which, in the end, in no small part thanks to him, they just did.